“Both of us had parents in World War II,” said Daub, whose father fought in the Army in the Philippines. “This was a chance to be part of a wonderful cause, creating a legacy for everybody involved.”

Their design mimics a ship’s bow, 28 feet tall, with walls angled in a V-shape. One wall lists the names of all who served on the ship. Writing on another wall calls the war “perhaps the most singular unifying event in the history of the United States.” On the floor is a map showing where the ship fought.

Another wall features a terra cotta relief of a battle scene, the San Diego surging through the ocean while shooting down an enemy plane. “It’s a nice way to represent that part of the story,” Daub said.

When it came to designing the sculpture of a sailor resting along one of the walls, Daub said they wanted the face to reflect the reality of war: “Utterly exhausted, totally spent, with some sadness, a little remorse, and the feeling that some things are beyond your control.”

Taffy 3

Vice Adm. Clifton “Ziggy” Sprague’s eyes are unblinking and his jaw is chiseled — literally. Just steps from the San Diego memorial, Sprague’s bronzed bust sits atop a monument to “Taffy 3,” or Task Force Unit 77.4.3. If the cruiser San Diego enjoyed incredible good luck, this little force seemed doomed.

In October 1944, the destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers under Sprague’s command were ordered to stop a larger, stronger Japanese flotilla in the Battle of Samar. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Americans turned back the Japanese battleships and cruisers, but lost dozens of planes and five ships.

For the rest of his life, John Ibe would remember abandoning the doomed escort carrier St. Lo and floating among its oily wreckage. After three hours of bobbing in the sea, he was hauled to safety by sailors from another U.S. vessel.

“He wouldn’t be alive without the bravery of those men,” said Shelly Edwards, who later served as Ibe’s assistant at his San Diego commercial real estate company.

Ibe, who was 84 when he died in 2006, campaigned to build monuments at Fort Rosecrans to the ships, squadrons and men of Taffy 3. Once that was accomplished, he turned to this waterfront memorial, then to one nearby honoring the late comedian Bob Hope for his USO tours to entertain the troops.

Ibe “started out with the first one and just kept going,” said his son, Mike, “I’m sure if he was still around, he’d be working on another one now.”

52 boats

Doug Smay was the driving force behind Liberty Station’s 52 Boats Memorial, which honors each of the U.S. submarines lost during the war. His father did 13 patrols in the Silent Service and felt lucky to have survived.

The black granite monuments line sidewalks that border a huge lawn at what used to be the Naval Training Center. There are 52 trees, too — Liberty Elms from New Jersey.